How To Use Your Clients For Better Marketing!

Marketing is a crucial part of owning and running a successful business; but I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that.

To borrow an old adage, having a business and not marketing it is like winking at someone in the dark. We understand marketing means you’ve got to put your products and services “out there” in a way that they entice potential clients and to buy what you’re selling. There are dozens and dozens of ways you can promote your products or services. Over the 25 plus years I’ve been in business, one thing I’ve learned is that clients (past and present) are probably the most overlooked source of valuable marketing information.

If you want to quickly strengthen your marketing efforts, ask your clients why they buy from you, and ask former clients why they stopped. There may be aspects of your service delivery that set you apart from competitors that you don’t even know about! Maybe you have packaging that makes people want to keep buying. Maybe someone on your team is rude on the phone and forcing clients to go elsewhere. There might be a problem or pain point you’re solving that you weren’t even aware of! You won’t know these things unless you ask.

How do you go about gathering this type of information? Here are three ideas to get you started.

Create a survey. There are many survey programs out there you can use to poll your past and present clients about what they like best about your company, and what you can do to improve or make working with your company a more pleasant and positive experience. Some may answer your survey questions freely; but you may discover you have to offer a freebie or discount code to encourage participation. That said, it would be a good investment if the data you receive from the survey exercise helps you strengthen your marketing efforts. You could send this survey in a mass email, embed a link in your next newsletter, post it on social media … whatever you can do to reach the bulk of your clients, past and present.

Create a follow-up process. If you haven’t already, you may wish to make it a part of your formal intake process to reach out at certain intervals for a casual chat with each of your current clients, as well as clients you are no longer working with. This is a great way to find out how you can better serve your clients, gather information for testimonials, and nip any issues in the bud that might have a negative impact on current relationships. Sometimes you just never know until you ask!

Watch what’s being said about you. Take some time to go through your LinkedIn endorsements, Facebook reviews, and Tweets that mention you. There may be several positive little nuggets and things being said about you and your business you could study, and pull from, to strengthen your marketing.

You can be applying all the “right” strategies to market your business on social media, with your email marketing, etc., but if you aren’t listening and asking and paying attention to those who you are already working with, or have worked with in the past, you’re missing out on one of the best marketing resources at your disposal.

Do you have any other tips to add to this list?

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In business since 1991, Terry Green is the founder/CEO/President of BizEase Support Solutions, an American-based, online marketing support company comprised of a team of talented professionals from around North America. BizEase excels at providing speakers and business coaches worldwide with seamless online marketing solutions, from setting up shopping carts and editing video, to writing blog posts and managing Social Media and PR campaigns. BizEase clients (who span five continents) take great joy in allowing the BizEase team to take care of the details so they can get back to doing what they do best! Click here to get our weekly tips ezine delivered to your inbox every other Friday, with tips on plugins, apps, and tools to make you more productive today!